Another very good story in this series. I look forward to book 3.
While these are technically in the time travel genre the time travel happens in the Another very good story in this series. I look forward to book 3.
While these are technically in the time travel genre the time travel happens in the first book and there is none in this book. I kept hoping that there would be some reveal from the villain that they were somehow also a time traveler who thought they would get away with it based on the lack of modern investigative techniques or something like that. But it was a straight up murder mystery with a person from the future. Do not get me wrong that was very enjoyable, seeing this time period through the eyes of someone from our time and them covering some of the details about things that changes is a very worthwhile use of a time travel story. I am not willing to give any spoilers but I will say I went into the first one worried that it was a swooning woman in a love triangle and so far that has not happened. I had read most of this book then got sidetracked and thought maybe I had finished it. Went back later and saw that I had not and then read through the rest in one sitting. ...more
Another hilarious page turning fun rump from Craig Alanson! I do not know how he both makes you sit on the edge of your seat from the thriller aspectsAnother hilarious page turning fun rump from Craig Alanson! I do not know how he both makes you sit on the edge of your seat from the thriller aspects but can make you tear up with laughter all at the same time. I think all readers kind of wish they were writers too, if I could be I would want to be just like Craig Alanson because I can not get enough of his books.
I do not do spoilers for books so you will not find any here. I can tell you they add another companion who is also a lot of fun which seems to be a pattern in these books. It may be that he will get to a point where the group is all together or it may be that by the 20th book he will be traveling with an entire platoon who knows all I know is I cant want to find out.
These books are full of suspense and laughs with an incredible skill. Craig Alanson seems to have peered into my brain and figured out how to write books that would appeal to me like no other. I am not a fan of fantasy at all, but I loved these books....more
When I first saw that Craig Alanson was writing a fantasy series I planned on skipping it because normally I can not stand fantasy. Now these are autoWhen I first saw that Craig Alanson was writing a fantasy series I planned on skipping it because normally I can not stand fantasy. Now these are automatic pre-orders for me and I read them the moment they come out. I am late in my review but the book is still fresh in my mind. The reason it is fresh in my mind is because the stories are so freaking good that I have continued thinking about them well after not only finishing these but also having finished a number of other books since then.
If you enjoy the Expeditionary Force book are into sci-fi but not fantasy and are considering buying these since they are by Craig Alanson let me tell you that you will not regret it. I normally can not stand fantasy but the characters in these books are so good and the story so fun that you will not care. You can look through my books and you will not see much fantasy, some Star Wars books and these.
I both fear the idea and wish it would happen that these get turned into a tv series or something like that. I fear the idea because I hate to think how badly hollywood could screw these up but wish it would happen to bring more people into this universe because I know how much joy they have brought me. I doubt the author will see this but Bravo Mr. Alanson you got someone who can not stand fantasy and usually checks out the moment magic enters the building to not only read these but make them automatic pre-orders. (I have already read book 3 need to post its review next) and can not wait for the next one!...more
I had a really hard time starting this book, the first 100 pages took me quite a while but once I got into the story I could not put it down. I do notI had a really hard time starting this book, the first 100 pages took me quite a while but once I got into the story I could not put it down. I do not know if it was just the need for world building to catch up to keeping me in the story or what because it was a good story from the start. I think any time I find a new author the first 100 pages are the hardest. Once into the story though I was completely captivated and I have started book 2 now.
The story is set in an alternate timeline where Rome has not won the Punic wars and have been pushed off the Iberian peninsula, our protagonist is from our distant future who grew up on a space station and was testing a new craft that threw him back in time to this alternate timeline. Rome is nearing defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians and he comes to the rescue of the Emperors daughter. I never include spoilers in my reviews so it will have to stop there but it is a fascinating read and one I highly recommend....more
I have read most of the books written by Mike Chen and I started this book quite a while back and got side tracked and just left it for at least a yeaI have read most of the books written by Mike Chen and I started this book quite a while back and got side tracked and just left it for at least a year or two. Recently I decided to pick it back up and just start over since it had been too long to remember the little bit that I had read. I am really glad I did. I think this one had the hardest process to get into but once I did I really enjoyed it.
The person you hear about at the start ends up not being the main protagonist which threw me off. She is a main character but the story is not really about her. Do not get me wrong, she is vital to the story. The world he builds is very interesting, imagine if Covid had been as bad as the black plague.
Author Mike Chen is very good at weaving good characters that you will care about by the middle of the book. Well worth a read!
I enjoyed the 2nd book more than I enjoyed the 1st. I hate that the 3rd is not ready yet!!!
Our protagonist gets himself out of the situation that he wI enjoyed the 2nd book more than I enjoyed the 1st. I hate that the 3rd is not ready yet!!!
Our protagonist gets himself out of the situation that he was in at the completion of the last book and turns corner on being a decent human being. This story was very compelling and I could not put it down. I am going to go a little mad waiting on book 3!
This was an interesting time travel book, instead of physically traveling in time the protagonist finds a way to send messages to his younger self witThis was an interesting time travel book, instead of physically traveling in time the protagonist finds a way to send messages to his younger self with advice on how to do things. The issue I am having with the books is the fairly large plot hole.
spoilers: (view spoiler)[The protagonist sends himself letters to explain how his life is before the change and he tracks his life changes this way. The problem is that every single other thing changes. He cant remember even doing the "time diving" to change things so how on earth is the letter being kept out of the loop?? (hide spoiler)]
There is one or two other plot holes but that one is big enough to drive an entire semi fleet through. That being said its a entertaining and compelling story. I picked up book 2 immediately and will start it right now.
I have really enjoyed these books, its not often you get to root for a purple people eater! This felt like a last book but so far he has ended them inI have really enjoyed these books, its not often you get to root for a purple people eater! This felt like a last book but so far he has ended them in a way where you just can not imagine him being able to go on. This was especially so with the third book so I can live in hope that we will see another book in the Timothy Blake series. Jack Heath has been very good at putting Blake in situations where you can not imaging him surviving but of course finds a way through. I am not suggesting that other authors do not also do that but that Heath does a better job of it than most. In this book Blake has to solve the case of an apparent Chinese astronaut who landed outside of an NASA facility. The twists and turns in this are very enjoyable, just when you think you have it figured out there is another twist that takes it in another direction.
I read this a couple of months ago so this review is really late. Serge is one of my all time favorite literary characters and getting to revisit his I read this a couple of months ago so this review is really late. Serge is one of my all time favorite literary characters and getting to revisit his manic crazy world is always a treat. Living in a condo full of retired people, Serge takes these retirees on a number of adventures as only Serge and Coleman can. I hope Tim Dorsey enjoys writing these books because his fans including myself will want him to keep writing them for many years to come. If you have a darkish sense of humor and like crazy antics then you will love this series. I suggest looking into the chronological order of the series, some are out of order and reading them that way. You do not have to start at the beginning but I think you will enjoy them.
I have a pretty serious complaint about this book. It ends. Nathan Van Coops you have to work with us here, these need to be longer, and also come outI have a pretty serious complaint about this book. It ends. Nathan Van Coops you have to work with us here, these need to be longer, and also come out more often!
In all seriousness I love this series! If you are considering reading these do, if you have not read the previous series you do not need to. However you will understand a few things better if you do. Also there is something at the end of this book that links to those so you will definitely get more out of them if you have read the In times like these books first.
As with all Adrian Tchaikovsky books that I have read so far this was incredibly well written and engaging. This is part fantasy, part science fictionAs with all Adrian Tchaikovsky books that I have read so far this was incredibly well written and engaging. This is part fantasy, part science fiction and all hard to put down. The protagonist of the story is a educated man who has been sentenced to a prison island and has to survive there. The journey part reminded me of Hyperion in the style of writing but it departs that pretty quickly. I am not a fan of spoilers in book reviews so I wont be doing that. Anything I cover will be pretty early in the book. He arrives at the prison island after a perilous journey only to discover how dangerous the island can be right away. There are a lot of really well fleshed out characters throughout the book and I had no problem remembering who each of them were which is not something I can say for a lot of books. That is a testament to how well written and unique each of them were. I want to add that there is definitely an Island of Dr. Moreau element to this as well.
This book is more horror than the thrillers that constitute Dark Matter, Recursion and Upgrade. There is certainly a thriller element though, I am notThis book is more horror than the thrillers that constitute Dark Matter, Recursion and Upgrade. There is certainly a thriller element though, I am not sure Blake Crouch would write something without that element. It tells the story of a couple of groups of people trying to find some basically cursed gold in a abandoned Colorado mountain town. The first group is in the 1800's and the 2nd is set now. There are parallels between them and the story is definitely riveting. I am not a huge fan of horror genre so I did not really care for that part but the story was so well written that it kept me interested throughout the book.
This was very different to the other Lawrence Block books that I have read. I have enjoyed all of the Burlgar books and had thought there would be no This was very different to the other Lawrence Block books that I have read. I have enjoyed all of the Burlgar books and had thought there would be no new ones, I had switched to reading science fiction nearly all the time and here he goes and combines them into one. I also enjoy books about multiple universes so this was real treat.
If you enjoyed the earlier books then you will also enjoy this one. Block picks right up where he left off with Bernie and has not lost a step. I would definitely suggest you start this series from the start if you have not read any of them yet. There are references to things that happen in earlier books that you wont understand otherwise. There was some funny self referencing as well that I thought was really hilarious.
I saw that Lawrence Block had written some more from Bernie and I had somehow missed it so I had to solve that right away. This is a collection of shoI saw that Lawrence Block had written some more from Bernie and I had somehow missed it so I had to solve that right away. This is a collection of short stories and lays out the evolution of Bernie Rhodenbarr. Its interesting seeing the earlier iteration of something that became so familiar to me. The author spends some time talking about the character which is very fascinating, he also talks about the movie that was made and how he felt about it. There are a couple of short stories where Bernie is more fleshed out and its the Bernie that we all came to know and love. I especially enjoyed the Burglar who dropped in on Elvis. How the cat came to be in his possession was also quite enjoyable.
Now I am off to read the Burglar who met Fredric Brown!
I want to start this review with I am not a fan of fantasy. Usually the moment I hear wizard and magic I am out the door. I was going to skip this becI want to start this review with I am not a fan of fantasy. Usually the moment I hear wizard and magic I am out the door. I was going to skip this because of the description. The problem for me was that Craig Alanson is one of my favorite authors. I was sitting there wishing I had another one of his books to read and decided to go ahead and give this one a try. I have to say I am glad he got his sidekick sooner rather than later like he did in the first Expeditionary Force book. Once Duke entered the story I was hooked.
If you like the expeditionary force books you will like this too. It has his incredible humor and writing style that just seems to get better and better as he goes on. There is even a hilarious self reference at some point in the book. I never give spoilers so I wont be covering anything important that is not in the books description. The protagonist is fantastic. He is very much like Joe from Expeditionary Force. There is of course no skippy but there is an excellent replacement, and that alone makes this book worth reading! But it does not stop there, there are a lot of great characters and I really look forward to the next book in this new series.
First of all if you have not read or listened to the first book then you do need to do that before listening to this. It seems to be audiobook only buFirst of all if you have not read or listened to the first book then you do need to do that before listening to this. It seems to be audiobook only but the first book has a kindle version. Ray Porter the narrator is one of the very best in the business and does an excellent job narrating this book.
I never do spoilers so you wont be finding out if anyone dies or who, if you enjoyed the first book you will also enjoy this one. Dennis E. Taylor is a very good writer and it shows in all of his books. The group spends some more time going back to earth for supplies and to add people to their settlement. That of course creates some interpersonal issues that need to be resolved and mostly are by the end of the book. I hope there is a third book and it was certainly left in a place where the author is clearly not done with the story so I do expect to see that. It being an audiobook I listened to this in my car and I have a fairly short commute so it took a while to get through it. The story was good enough that I sat in my car to hear what would happen next quite a few times including this morning because I had to see how it ended.
Pretty short but good book. I enjoyed the characters and got into the setting very easily. I like it when an author can world build on the fly and DjaPretty short but good book. I enjoyed the characters and got into the setting very easily. I like it when an author can world build on the fly and Django Wexler did a fantastic job of that in this book. I hate to give spoilers so I will try and avoid anything like that. There is battle robots, space travel and some romance in this book. If you enjoy stories of going up against big odds with a lot on the line in a science fiction setting then this book will be right up your alley!
This is a decent book, I think if I had not also been reading Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty I would have scored this a little better but the comparThis is a decent book, I think if I had not also been reading Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty I would have scored this a little better but the comparison was bad for this book. Its interesting for sure. I will read the next book in the series as well. My biggest issue with the book was the shift from them being in a relatively normal place to outright insanity was a little to abrupt for me. Some of the things that happen after they (lets say exit) the facility after it was hit was maybe a little too absurd. I hate giving spoilers in reviews so I wont be doing that but to take the first person and then shift that perspective the way they did was strange. How would the clone not know since all the others did? Why would it think it was the original when none of the others did? I just thought that section was bad and took a star off for that. It then shifts into overdrive from there and a few things I thought could have used more time to flesh out but the book spent too much time on the early part and I guess the author felt that he needed to keep the size down maybe? Also it was in Time Travel and there is a Time travel element but I would not call this a time travel book at all.
I have really enjoyed every single Ben H Winters book that I have read so far and this book is no different. The concept here is that there is a massiI have really enjoyed every single Ben H Winters book that I have read so far and this book is no different. The concept here is that there is a massive meteor heading towards the earth and most people have pretty well stopped doing their jobs, as most of us would definitely do. The protagonist is not actually the last policeman yet in this book, I suspect that by the end of book three he will be. But the department has definitely lost the majority of its people. He goes to the scene of someones death and suspects that its not a suicide but actually a murder. I do not do spoilers and this is all info that is out there so I wont go any further into the story other than its fascinating following a murder mystery while in total societal collapse. I look forward to the next book and I strongly suggest that if you have not read these to give them a shot, and if you have not yet read anything from Ben H. Winters to start either here or Underground Airlines or even some of his short stories, Q & A is a masterpiece!
There is an author named Lavi Tidhar who is in some ways like Ben Winters, if you like those books you should also like these. These are way less disturbing than say A Man Lies Dreaming but has that mystery/thriller set in a alternate reality to our own. I wish I could quantify Mr Winter's writing better but that is the most similar author in my opinion. Underground Airlines was definitely dark as was another one that I absolutely loved a short story called Self Help. So he does dark as well as Tidhar but maybe Tidhar's dark is more disturbing. If you have read A Man Lies Dreaming I can tell you there is no stomach churning scene like the one you will know what I am talking about in A Man Lies Dreaming.
This was an excellent book. I had seen it on the Goodreads best of the year list and while it did not win it looked fantastic and so I thought I wouldThis was an excellent book. I had seen it on the Goodreads best of the year list and while it did not win it looked fantastic and so I thought I would give it a shot. This book has a sentient space station, sentient starships, rock aliens, bee aliens and more. It has a mystery to be solved and it has some action. If you enjoy a well written science fiction set story then you really should give this book a shot. I really enjoyed the characters and I thought the writer did a good job of giving them depth in a short time.
I have had a few of Mur Lafferty's books in my queue for a while now and I am really glad I finally got to her work. I look forward to six wakes as my next Mur Lafferty book.
